The Foreign Service Journal, September 2018

62 SEPTEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA ON THE HILL | BY KIM GREENPLATE, DIRECTOR OF CONGRESSIONAL ADVOCACY Congressional Funding—The Long Game I am happy to have joined the AFSA team as the director of congressional advocacy after nearly five years of working for the U.S. House of Representatives. As a former Capitol Hill staffer, I hope to bring a useful perspective on how to promote understand- ing of the Foreign Service and appreciation of its vital role to members of Congress and their staffs. In my first months at AFSA, Congress has seen a busy summer leading up to its annual August recess period. This spring, the advocacy team turned its focus to appropriations and worked to safeguard Fiscal Year 2019 State Department and USAID funding, helping to overcome the threat of a $4 billion cut resulting from a decrease in spending for Overseas Contin- gency Operations (known by its acronym, OCO) in the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act. In an environment where so many differing priorities competed for scarce dis- cretionary funding, AFSA was pleased to see the base budget raised by $4 billion to compensate for the loss of OCO. This is a big win! However, Congress and its leadership continue to debate FY 2019 funding options as the end of FY 2018 draws near, making the possibility of a continuing resolution ever more likely. Under a continuing resolu- tion, funding would remain at FY 2018 levels, and we would not see FY 2019 funding go into effect until the passage of a comprehensive FY 2019 annual appropriations pack- age. The timeline on this is long and uncertain. The advocacy team also highlighted for members of Congress the need to restore our core diplomatic capability, emphasizing a field-forward U.S. Foreign Service in embas- sies and consulates abroad. AFSAmade the case that, at a time when China is increas- ing its diplomacy budget, the ongoing operations of U.S. diplomatic programs cannot be shortchanged. The message was clear: Our trained and experienced diplomats are ready and able to deliver high-value diplomacy for the American people, and that starts with allowing more of them to serve in positions overseas where they can have the greatest impact. We disseminated this message through meetings and correspondence with the Hill, making members of Congress aware of what reinforcing this critical Ameri- can presence abroad could do—from promoting the rule of law to creating framework improvements that would enable American companies to compete on a level playing field—and win. Over the next few months, AFSA’s advocacy team is continuing to develop and implement a long-term strat- egy leading up to the 116th Congress. With the retirement of some key champions on the most important congres- sional committees for AFSA, the advocacy team is focused on building relationships with those expected to succeed current chairmen and ranking members. There are rare opportuni- ties that come with a large, incoming freshmen class of new members of Congress, and AFSA is preparing to seize them. n The message was clear: Our trained and experienced diplomats are ready and able to deliver high-value diplomacy for the American people. AFSA President Attends USGLC Summit AFSA/KIMGREENPLATE AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson and Lieutenant Ben Maddox, a Navy JAG and U.S. Global Leadership Coalition state leader from Texas, at the USGLC State Leaders Summit on June 18 at the Washington Grand Hyatt. USGLC is one of AFSA’s key strategic partners in our outreach efforts across the United States. Summit attendees received a Capitol Hill briefing regarding the international affairs budget and participated in a speaker series on why leading globally matters locally.